(For lots more pictures, see below the text...)

North Carolina to the northern tip of Labrador is just over 1800 nm, direct; a Lake amphibian cruises at 105 knots (120 mph) in still air.  Bill and I aren’t lightweights… we can take 140 lb of stuff. We get food, camping gear, tools, etc. pared down, leave the cabin heater and the back seat behind.

First stop: the Oxbow Inn on Oxbow Lake, in the Adirondacks. Nothing remarkable here, but a place to pull up on the beach with the motel right there, and a restaurant next door. Pretty lake, nice mountains. About six flying hours from NC to get there.  Off early the next morning.

Cleared customs in Sherbrooke, Quebec… quite painless. Call ahead, call when you get there, answer a few questions, copy down a clearance number.  Great breakfast at the airport café!

Stopped at Baie Comeau, on the St. Laurence River, for fuel.  We were pretty heavy (right at gross), so I’d been hesitant to add sponson fuel (worried about performance), but we did here and it was ok. Bypassed a planned stop at Wabush, and arrived at Schefferville, Quebec, pretty well beat. (Only reliable fuel in Labrador is Schefferville and Goose Bay.) No one there, but the door to the terminal was open, so in we walked, hit the head, back to the airplane… wait, the door’s locked! Can’t get back out. Gear in the airplane, doors open, rain coming.  Break through the fence (thank you, Leatherman), back to the airplane. Get on the phone to the local hotel (advertisement in the terminal lobby), put through to “the boss”. Who sends a cab, tells us he’ll “take care of us”. Cab takes us to the Restaurant Bla-Bla (no kidding!), where the “boss” and a couple other guys are having dinner. Eat. The boss owns the restaurant, the hotel, the cab company, the ambulance company, and who knows what else. Also flys, though he freely admits, doesn’t have a license. No room at the inn, but one of the folks at the table says he’s got an extra room if we’ve got sleeping bags (we do!) Spend the night. New friend takes us back to the airport.

On to Kangiqsualujjuaq (a.k.a. George River), where we have a barrel of 100LL reserved (could get two if needed, but not just part of a barrel).  Pickup truck arrives, rolls barrel out of truck, accepts payment, and we’re on our own. Fortunately, we knew this ahead of time, and brought a decent pump. Fuel airplane.

Then commences one of the most spectacular, amazing flights I’ve ever taken. Weather is good, and we fly around the northern end of Labrador, called Land’s End.  We ran out of trees yesterday… just tundra, rock, low shrubs. On the way up, we land at Bell Lake on the Bay of Ungava side, go hiking. Wondering about bears (book says this area is known for polar bears… never saw one).  Around the top end of Labrador.  Very rugged, steep, cliffs to the sea, snow and ice in the gullies, fairly mild sea state, but even so… lordy, don’t go there.  These are the Torngat Mountains, highest around 4,000 msl, lots of ponds, lakes, fjords, waterfalls.  Several icebergs not far out… we circle one. Land on Miriam Lake, on the Atlantic side… up a narrow canyon, turn around, splash down, pull up to a beach and go hiking. Loon on the lake sounds very lonely.  Probably a hundred miles to the nearest village… maybe to the nearest human.

Take off again, fly down the coast, turn up the Nachvack Fjord.  Again, very steep walls, many waterfalls, more snow and ice in the shaded spots.  We’re at about 2,000 MSL, mountains tower above us on both sides. At the end of the fjord, we go a bit further, then climb and turn towards a lake we think will be good to camp on, land. Not good… best spot appears to be a small, rocky “delta” at the bottom of a dry stream bed.  Likely very wet if it rains. Let’s look for something else.  Gas is ok, but not a lot of time to fool around.  Copilot spots a long, nameless lake with a beach at one end, level area for tents.  Land, perfect spot. Camp.

Wake up to maybe 200 feet of visibility in fog.  Temps in the 40’s and 50’s, fog and occasional rain for three days… weathered in.  Sleep, read, hike, sleep, read… really not bad.  I’m warm enough, but wish I’d brought rain pants. (Copilot has waders… great idea, since the airplane is in the water, and every trip to it means cold feet).  No fish.

Evening of the third day we can see the other end of the lake, and it looks bright beyond that… consider taking off for Kang, 55 miles away.  But Kang only reports from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., we really don’t know what it’s like there now, we don’t have an excess of gas, it’s maybe an hour ‘til dark… and the “hole” here is likely to close up again anytime. Stay put.

Next morning, it really does look reasonable. Take off, back to Kang, no problem, except that groundspeed is about 60 knots… 45 knots of wind, on the nose. We have more gas in the barrel, which just fills the main… no way we’re getting to Goose Bay (plan A), or even Schefferville (plan B) with that wind. Get hotel room… no attendant, just key in a code at the door. No restaurant… buy food at the Innuit coop, there’s a full kitchen at the hotel.

Kang is an interesting place, and we really wanted to find out more about it. Seems to be mostly Innuit, very functional buildings, some amenities (an indoor swimming pool!), no visible businesses, no apparent means of making a living. Fishing? A couple of fishing boats, but nothing much. Twenty five foot tides. Harsh environment. No one wanted to talk… all attempts to engage in conversation failed.  We left puzzled.

Back to Schefferville (winds moderated, IFR in Class G, don’t talk to anyone except self-announce on 126.7), gas up, on to Goose Bay.  $100 for the privilege of spending an hour on the ramp and buying fuel ($75 handling, $25 landing, not waived with fuel purchase).  Hurricane Irene churning up from the U.S., but slowing down. On to Lourdes de Blanc-Sablon, hole up for two nights in a motel while Irene (now a tropical storm) passes. No gas, a misunderstanding when we called ahead.  Buy gas from a local Beaver bush pilot, in cans.

On to Newfoundland… but wait, the alternator isn’t alternating. Taxi back, local mechanic spends most of two hours taking off the alternator, reattaching the field wire, replacing the alternator, and fixing a loose muffler support bolt he spots (safety wire broken). Charges only $50. THANK YOU!!

On to NF, fly just offshore along the Gros Morne National Park, more very rugged scenery. Can't land in the park, nothing close by looks great... besides, it's still very windy and rough down low. Stop at Deer Lake, gas up, go looking for a campsite.  Find an absolutely idyllic spot south of Grand Lake, gravel beach to pull up on and park out of the water, very little wind, fish sign all over the place. Copilot/fisherman tries, but fish not impressed, stay safe. Warm water (comparatively), gorgeous sunset. Fog the next morning, but burns off shortly, time to head for home.

Canadians, from the customs folks to the airport folks, the people almost everywhere we met, are friendly, helpful, generous… just all ‘round great people.  Gas is expensive ($9 - $10/gal), and you’ll be charged a hefty callout fee for gas before eight or after five, or on weekends, but if you need help… you’ll get it, with a smile and good cheer. In fifty years of flying, this might have been the best yet.

Frank

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